In currently available media systems, media devices may be switched to a power saving mode upon detecting that there has been no user activity at the media device for some pre-defined time period. However, current systems do not account for the fact that user inactivity at a media device is not necessarily indicative of the media device not currently being utilized. For example, user inactivity at a media device may be due to user being highly engaged in a media asset currently being consumed and thus, inactive. Therefore, in many cases, media device being switched to a low power mode following a period of inactivity may be disruptive to a user's media consumption experience. This problem is particularly acute when a media device is switched to a power saving mode while a user is still consuming a given media asset. Thus, current systems can be improved to minimize disruptions to a user's media consumption experience when optimizing power consumption of media devices.